The Draft Gender-Mainstreaming guidelines were developed and the document was approved by the Executive Management Committee and it still needs to be tabled at the Heads of Social Development Meeting for adoption.

The process was informed by the analysis and review of all the Departmental strategic and critical documents and the Pre-assessment organizational report was presented to Management.

The Draft Gender-Mainstreaming Guidelines is a guide that will assist the managers and implementing Provinces to integrate gender considerations in their daily activities and it is in line with the National Policy Framework on Women Empowerment and Gender Equality.

All the Chief Directorates participated in the consultative process of the Guidelines development and Provinces will customize it in relation to their Provincial Priorities.

The National Department is in the process of recommending that a gender indicator needs to be integrated as a generic indicator in all the SMS performance agreements, and bilateral meetings are held with Managers to assist them in mainstreaming gender in their systems and processes, eg ensuring usage of the sex desegregated data, the 30% quota which will be reviewed in compliance to the gender parity, assessing the gender impacts of their programmes, and promoting a gender sensitive environment.

Women is Decision Making is at 65% at the National Office Presently only few Chief Directorates mainstream gender in their systems and processes and are in constant liaison with the GFP to assist them like Population and Development, Children and Families, Disability, HIV & AIDS, HRM, Sector Education and Training, Community Development and Finance.

The Deputy Minister, Dr Jean Benjamin will be having a workshop on the 15-16 August 2005 with the aim of giving a Departmental focus Beijing + 10 feedback, to enhance the present strategies in order to ensure the acceleration of gender-mainstreaming, to ensure commitment by Provincial Heads of Departments to implement the developed Provincial Gender Action Plans as it is in their mandate.

2. Training and Capacity Building

Continuously building and refining the GFP's skills and expertise by exchanging best practices in provinces and through accredited institutions and service provider on gender studies.

Continuous training of managers and staff to ensure the integration of gender considerations in their daily business both internally and externally to our beneficiaries. Some training given is Gender Equality in Africa, Gender Budgeting, Gender-mainstreaming, UN AU, SADC women's treaties and the National Gender Policy Linking the Copenhagen agreement to the Beijing Platform for Action, CEDAW, Dakar Platform of Action, the African Protocol and the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa.

The National office and six provinces received comprehensive training on the above-mentioned which informed the development of their Gender Action Plans. The last three provinces namely KZN, WC and the EC will be trained before the end of the financial year.

About 8 -12 Senior managers and middle managers were trained per province.

Three Provinces will cascade the training to all their Provincial Managers before the end of the financial year in order to ensure that managers are accelerating the integration of gender considerations in their daily business and support the Gender Focal Point in mainstreaming gender in their respective Provincial Departments.

The gender budgeting training was coordinated for the staff and managers during 2004. Regular gender training by Pretoria University has also been coordinated in collaboration with Sector Education and Training for managers and officials.

3. Queens Project

The GFP facilitated the development of the Queens (Her Majesties) partnership concept document in social services delivery, their empowerment also in redressing the cultural and traditional stereotypes in line with the African Protocol on the Rights of Women and the Constitution.

The outcome of the process was the establishment of the strong working relationship with the National House of Traditional Leaders (NHTL) particularly the Social Development Committee where the Department is presently a member and reports monthly on progress and challenges facing the Queens, Wives of Traditional Leaders and Traditional Leaders in developmental projects, their own empowerment in terms of Human Rights, the development of the National Queens database and a report clearly articulating the Queens, Wives of Traditional Leaders and Traditional Leaders aspirations and commitment through the declaration to partner with the Department in social service delivery .

The Department of Social Development and the National House of Traditional Leaders jointly co-ordinated the National Queens conference consisting of six provinces, which was the first of it's kind to bring the Queens together. The outcome resulted in.

4. Institutional Mechanisms and coordination framework

a. Status of the GFP

The National Gender Forum consisting of the Provincial Gender Focal Points, National Gender Focal Point and the National Chief Directorates Population and Development and HIV&AIDS was established in July 2004. This forum developed the National Action Plan that facilitated the establishment and enhancement of the Provincial Gender Focal Points through the audits tools assessing progress, and encouraged strengthening of the Provincial co-ordination through the Provincial Offices on the Status of Women.

Two Provinces have advertised the GFP posts at the Deputy Director level and are either being filled or in the process of being filled. Other Provinces are busy with job evaluation to determine the level of the Gender Focal Point posts and are focusing on gender and other programmes. At the National Department the Gender Focal Point is managed by a Deputy Director at level 11.

The Director post is in the process of being filled The National Gender Forum is established but it's membership needs to be elevated to the Director level so as to effectively influence others to integrate gender consideration in systems and process.

Provinces have established Gender Forums and in Mpumalanga it is composed of Directors, Chief Directors and the GFP

b. Location

Most of the Provincial GFP's are located either at MEC's office, the Policy Chief Directorate or HRM. The National GFP is located in the DG's office under the supervision of the Director: Executive Support.

c. Coordination

The National Gender Focal Point understands and effectively implements the co-ordination framework. The GFP actively participates in all the National Gender Machinery processes and activities and cascades the same principle to provinces.

In addition to the OSW, CGE and other chapter 9 institutions, the Joint Monitoring Committee on the Quality of Life and Status of Women, the National GFP closely work with NGO's, traditional Queens and civil society.

The GFP assists them in terms of the NGM processes, developmental programmes and empowerment of their rights to services and resources; eg, their participation in international fora's like the UNCSW, recommend relevant NGO's for participation in the India Brazil South Africa cooperation preparations, national conferences linking them with relevant Directorates for funding. Worked closely with Queens in launching their programmes on social service delivery.

The Department work closely with chapter 9 institutions like the CGE, HRC, CCS in addressing the plight of widows with traditional institutions. Participate in various international, continental and national processes as directed by the OSW.

5. Monitoring Systems

Various audits have been conducted in the National and Provinces Departments to establish the following;

• The extend of the organizational gender-mainstreaming in policies, programmes, plans and processes
• The status and location of the GFP' s in Provinces
• The knowledge and effective implementation of the International, Continental, Regional and the National Gender Policy
• Situational analysis on Women strategies on the empowerment and service delivery to women beneficiaries
• Participated in the continental Africa Gender Development Index
• SADC institutional mechanisms gender analysis
• Input and participate in all the periodic International reports like BPFA, the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa and the SADC Gender and Development Declaration and it's addendum
• Provincial Departments are submitting quarterly reports on the implementation of the Beijing critical areas relevant to the Department.

6. Resources

The allocated budget for the facilitation of gender-mainstreaming is R 825 000 including personnel.

7. Commemoration of Events

The GFP is not responsible for coordinating events but the Chief Directorate Communications. The role of the National GFP is only to input in the concept and give direction as agreed upon at the NGM.

The Communication Chief Directorate disseminates the information to Provinces and assist them with co-ordination. Provinces are also encouraged to identify and adopt a programme that will be sustained linked to this events so that it is not a once off event.

August Month

Launch of the Queens Trust Fund that will enable the Queens to implement the social development programmes effectively. This is a joint venture with Queens and Wives of Traditional Leaders under the National House of Traditional Leaders. In line with the UNCSW 48^th of bringing men as partners, the Victim Empowerment Programme has campaigns in all provinces in an attempt to encourage men to open up.

International Rural Women's Day

The Department will be launching two Queens Projects in Provinces on the 15^th October 2005 In line with CEDAW article 14 informed by their needs

16 Days of Activism

The Victim Empowerment Programme co-ordinates events in line with the National Gender Programme

8. Challenges

a. Although there is a political will, managers are still not fully committed to integrating gender concerns in their daily activities thus it still remains an add-on

b. Allocation of adequate resources is still a challenge, and human power is depleted within the internal, external and the National Gender Machinery processes.

c. Unfunded mandates put challenges to the GFP.

d. The implementation of gender-budgeting is not effective as mostly junior officials were delegated to attend the training.

e. Managers turn to delegate junior officials to attend gender training and it is not effective as gender mainstreaming needs to be accelerated from a management level.

f. To synchronies customs with rights and responsibilities and educate communities, eg the issue of female virginity testing